Vacuum-sealing cap



March 13, 1928. 1,662,435

w. J. PEELLE I VACUUM SEALING CAP Filed Feb. 1'71 1927 Int/67%".- Zl/z'llzls JReZZa Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES WILLIS. J. PEELLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VACUUM-SEALING CAP.

Application filed February 17, 1927. Serial No. 168,933.

The invention pertains to caps or closures for glass jars such as are used in packing and preserving food products, and has especial reference to a vacuum sealing cap or closure adapted for use by commercial packers employing the method of jpackin commonly known as processing in which the products are first packaged and subsequently heated for sterilization purposes or otherwise treated while in the containers.

In producing a vacuum seal cap suitable for use in packaging and preserving food products by the processing method, it is necessary to provide means for holding the cap in position upon the sealing seat in a manner such as topermit the escape of air and vapor during the processing operation without, however, injuring the cap so as to prevent the formation. of a vacuum seal. Furthermore it is desirable that the cap be easily removable from the jar by the housewife or other user not equipped with special tools, and that such'removability be possible without destroying the utility of the cap as a subsequent temporary closure. Also it is of course desirable that-the cap structure be such as to be capable of being cheaply manufaetured.

In the use of caps of the well known screw type there is danger that in turning the cap onto the jar the sealing gasket will become damaged, especially where the sealing seat, as frequently happens, presents rough or sharp edges. Moreover, the rubber. gasket employed may stretch unevenly and thus prevent the formation of a perfect seal. Another type of cap which is commonly used is in the form of a disk carrying a rubber gasket near its periphery, which disk is secured in position upon the jar by means of a sep arately formed split ring, the ends of whlch are adapted to be interlocked and the edges of which coact with the disk and a shoulder on the jar to hold the disk in position. This particular type of cap has the advantage that it avoids rotation of the cap relative to the jar and is readily removable, but it is subject to theobjection that it is costly to manufacture. Moreover, it has been found that where the securing means is in the form of an annular ring extending throughout the circumference of the cap, there is a tendency for the ring to become distortediby the escape of pressure within the jar during processing, with the result that the cap fails to seat properly, after the processing opera tion, to form the perfect seal.

The objects of my invention, therefore, are to produce a jar cap or closure having a raw or non-vulcanized rubber vacuum-sealing gasket attached thereto and further having embodied therein means for holding it in positlon upon the jar so as to permit the escape of air or vapor in the operation of processing food products in the jar; which will insure the formation of a perfect vacuum seal subsequent to the processing operation; which lends itself to easy removal by unskilled persons and without special tools; and which is capable of being manufactured at a very low cost.

In carrying out my invention I employ a cap formed from a single piece of metal shaped to provide a disk having at spaced points in its periphery a plurality of lugs adapted to engage with the jar so as to hold the cap thereon. The sealing gasket is of a non-vulcanized rubber composition material, secured to the inner side of the disk at its peripheral edge; and the peripheral edge of the cap disk has a narrow flange or skirt preferably of a depth just sufficient to protect the outer peripheral edge of the gasket. The lugs engage with the jar at points spaced a substantial distance apart, thus leaving between the lugs unsecured por tions which are adapted to yieldin the proc essing operation to permit theescape of air or steam, without, however, injuring the cap in any way, so that after the escape of pressure from within the jar, the cap assumes its normal form resenting the gasket on the sealing seat formed by the upper edge of the jar.

Referring now to the drawings wherein I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cap looking into the interior thereof.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the upper portion of the jar with the cap ap plied thereto, a portion of the jar and cap bein shown in section at a point between the fastening tongues.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through one upper corner of the jar and cap applied thereto and showing one of the fastening lugs.

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Fig. & is an elevational view showing the manner of nesting the caps for shipping Q purposes.

The cap is formed from a single piece of sheet metal of suitable gage so as to provide a disk 7 constituting the top or closure portion of the cap and at points spaced a substantial distance apart about the periphery of the disk 7 are a plurality of lugs 8, preferably four in number. The peripheral edge of the disk 7 has between the lugs 8 a narrow flange or skirt 9 preferably of a depth substantially equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of the gasket 10. The latter is formed of a non-vulcanized rubber composition material having little or no resiliency, and may be conveniently secured to the inner side of the disk 7 just within the skirt 9. As herein shown the disk 7 may be shaped to form an annular shoulder 11 spaced inwardly from the skirt 9 a distance sufficient to accommodate the gasket 10. The lugs 8' are made of a length such that their end portions may be bent as at 12 into engagement with a locking shoulder 13 formed on the upper end of the glass jar or otlier receptacle in opposed relation to the upper edge of the jar.

In the use of my improved cap in packaging food products by the processing meth- 0d, the jar having first been filled with the food products, the is applied and the free ends of the l 8 bent into engagement with the shoulder is. T he cap is thus fastened tothe jar at points spaced asubstantial distance apart. Du

processing operation these unsecur s of the cap, between the lugs, are p mitt-ed to yield relative to the jar thus pemitting the escape of air or steam from me interior of the jar while the contents thereof are being cooked or otherwise treated by the application of heat. After permitting the escape under pressure of air and steam from the interior of the jar, the unsecured portions of the cap resume their initial or normal positions, reseating the gasket 10 upon the upper edge of the jar. It is to be observed that owing to the fact that the gasket is of non-vulcanized rubber composition it has little or no resiliencey. Therefore, when the unsecured portions of the cap between the lugs 8 yield in a direction away from the jar under the action of the pressure in the jar, the gasket will move with the yielding portions of the cap so as to permit the escape of pressure. A cured rubber gasket, on the other hand, being held by the securing lugs under a state of compression, would tend, because of its resilicency, to expand with the yielding of the unsecured portions of the cap and thus operate to prevent escape of pressure in the jar.

It will also be noted that in removing the cap from a jar it is only necessary to disengage two or more of the lugs from the shoulder 13 and to insert an instrument such as a table knife between the skirt 9 of the cap and the upper edge of the jar so as to pry the edge of the gasket loose from the scat ing seat thus permitting the entrance of air into the container and destroying the vac uum.

As shown in big. a, the lugs 8 are preferably formed with a slight outward taper so as to permit the nesting of the caps for purposes of packaging the same for shipment, and the degree of taper is such that in the nested relation a small space is formed between the top of one cap and the edge of the narrow skirt of the adj accnt cap. The nesting of the caps serves in addition to protect the lugs thereof during shipment, and the space between the caps permits the insertion of a suitable instrument to separate them one from the other when finally held together by frictional intcrengagement.

The cap is extremely simple in construction so that it may be manufactured at a very low cost; it is capable of being easily applied by the use of suitable capping machinery such as is available to commercial packers; it forms an effective vacuum seal; and it is convenient to the consumer because of the ease with which it may be removed. and because it may be removed without injuring the cap and thus permit its use as a temporary closure.

I claim as my invention:

1. A vacuum sealing jar cap having, in combination, a disk with a plurality of lugs formed at the edge of the disk and spaced a substantial distance apart, said lugs being adapted to engage the jar at spaced points in its periphery so to secure the cap to the jar at such points, and a. sealing gasket of nonvulcanized substantially nonresilient material adhesively secured to the disk so as to be interposed between it and the upper edge of the jar, the unsecured portions ofthe disk intermediate said lugs being adapted to yield under pressure within the jar in a direction away from the scaling scat. whereby to permit the escape of such pressure during the processing of food products in the jar.

2. A vacuum sealing jar cap having in combination, a disk with a plurality of lugs formed at the edge of the disk and spaced a substantial distance apart, said lugs being adapted to be bent at their free ends into engagement with a locking shoulder on a jar, and a sealing gasket secured to the disk so as to be interposed between said disk and the sealing seat of the jar, said cap further having a narrow skirt at the periphery of the disk adapted to protect the outer edge of the gasket while permitting the disk to yield under pressure within the jar during the processing of food products in the jar.

3. A vacuum sealing cap for glass jars and the like comprising in combination a disk having a plurality of lugs formed integral with the disk and spaced a substantial distance apart at the periphery of the disk, and a gasket oi nonresilient rubber composition adhesively secured to the disk and adapted to engage with the upper edge of the jar, said lugs being adapted to be bent into engagement with a locking shoulder on the jar, the arrangement being such that the unsecured portions of the disk between said lugs are adapted to yield under pressure during the processing of food products in the jar to permit the escape of such pressure, said cap further having a protecting flange for said gasket of a depth adapted to permit of the insertion of an instrument between the gasket and the sealing seat so as to destroy the vacuum seal.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

WILLIS J. PEELLE. 

